Catsitting
by MiladyGirl
Summary: When Garcia can't find a catsitter for Sergio over Christmas, Blake volunteers. She might not have planned on getting attached, though.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

I know, I know, I should sit the eff down and finish the several things I've already started. Actually, I _am_ in the middle of finishing a lot of unfinished works, original and fanfics, and had to take a break from them all. Unfortunately, I do so by starting another. What can I say? I personally needed this.

*grumbles under her breath* Blake needed this, too.

* * *

"I can't, Garcia, you know Will is allergic to cats," JJ said.

"But I don't know who else to ask," the tech analyst said, sounding quite worked up. "I can't bring Sergio with me to England; as much as Emily would probably love to see him he'd be terrified from the travelling and I can't put him through that. And Morgan is coming with me, so I can't ask him either."

JJ sighed.

"What about Hotch? Jack has a soft spot for animals…"

"Yes and I tried to use my persuasion skills on Boss Man, which you know isn't easy, but if anyone can do it I can, but guess what? He and Jack are spending Christmas at Beth's in New York. And Reid is going to see his mom in Vegas. And Rossi has a dog!"

"But are you sure Sergio is afraid of Rusty?" JJ asked.

" _Rusty_ is terrified of _Sergio_!" Garcia said and they both burst out laughing. "I'm serious, though. Rossi is never taking in Sergio again after last time, so the problem? Still unsolved."

Blake stood next to them, refilling her coffee mug, and waited for the inevitable. But either her presence had passed the other women by, or she simply wasn't considered for the task. It hurt her feelings a little, even as she was well aware that she was never the one considered for babysitting or, apparently, petsitting.

"Then I don't know, Penelope," JJ said. "Kevin?" she tried, but she could tell from Garcia's face alone that wasn't an option.

"Kevin can't even keep a _cactus_ alive!"

"Aren't there any, you know, like cat hotels?"

"Yes, I might have to resort to that, but they're so expensive, and over Christmas and all…"

"I can take him," Blake suddenly heard herself say. JJ and Garcia turned and looked at her as if they saw her for the first time. They both looked somewhat sceptical, so she quickly added;

"It would actually be nice to have some company."

"You're sitting alone on _Christmas_?" Garcia said, her concern redirected from Sergio's care to Blake's social life, or lack thereof.

"That was the plan," Blake replied, sounding casual. She hadn't actually seen James in person since their divorce four months earlier, and while he had invited her to spend Christmas with him at his parents' place in Boston like most years during their marriage, she couldn't think of anything less peaceful. It was a gentlemanly gesture, but it was probably made more out of guilt than an honest wish to spend time with her, and so she had very gently declined. She had a feeling he was grateful she had. As for family… no, she wasn't ready to see either her father or brother yet. Scott had nagged on her until she almost lost her patience, but her father had read her reluctance correctly. It wasn't _no, I don_ _'_ _t want to see you_. It was _Not yet. I need more time to figure myself out. Then I_ _'_ _ll be back._ That had been her approach to emotionally difficult situations her entire life, and family tended to equal emotionally difficult situations, at least in her world. But although she was a linguist, she didn't think she'd be able to put those feelings into words and explain this to Garcia and JJ, and so she didn't even try.

"I'm so sorry," Garcia said, her voice full of sympathy. Blake smiled.

"Thank you, but it's my own choice. It's going to be nice to spend one Christmas without drama," she said, and she found to her relief that the words were completely honest. "Either way, I'll be home all Christmas and I don't have plans other than eating too much and catching up on some reading, so I'll be happy to take him if you don't find anyone else," she finished and went back to her work station to leave the decision to Garcia. The younger woman hurried over to her before she had even put her coffee down.

"Would you? I didn't want to ask you because, uh, well… he sheds. And he scratches."

Blake gave her a confused glance as she sat down.

"Of course he does, he's a cat."

"It's just that you're always so… put together. And I bet your home is too. I mean, if he destroys anything I'll pay for it," Garcia assured her, and Blake just shook her head.

"It's fine, Garcia. Don't worry. I grew up with dogs, and trust me, they definitely know how to destroy things. Particularly _shoes_ , for some reason," she added mostly to herself and grinned when Garcia shuddered. "So, I'll just put away the things I'm careful with, and then I'm good. Really. When do you want me to take him?"

"Thursday…?" Garcia asked hesitantly. She wasn't leaving until Friday, but she could use some time to pack without risking that a certain feline decided to hide in the bags.

"Great, Thursday it is, then," Blake said, and that was that. She smiled to herself as she went back to work. She had been completely honest when she said that it would be nice with some company. Some company that didn't feel compelled to complain about her life choices, that was.

* * *

Sergio was not impressed with his new living accommodations, although this was a much bigger place than the one he shared with Garcia. But then again, like any cat, he was not impressed by anything. He glared at the brunette he was obviously in the care of at the moment, and when he was sure she looked back at him, he yawned as if telling her just _how_ unimpressed he was.

"Oh, so you think I'm boring, huh?" she said as she looked up from the novel she was reading. "This is supposed to be my week off, I do apologise that 'vacation' doesn't equal skydiving to me," she said, not feeling the slightest weird for talking to an animal. After all, the only ones who knew was she and the animal in question. Sergio seemed to almost roll his eyes at her, and Blake laughed out loud.

"Come on, Serge," she said and patted her lap. "I may not be the most creative person you've ever known, but I do a pretty good behind-the-ear-scratch if you're interested."

Sergio appeared to consider, then jumped up and made himself comfortable between Blake's face and the book she was reading, taking the opportunity to shove the entire bouquet of whiskers into her face.

"Yeah, those are fine whiskers, you may keep them to yourself now," she said, put the book on the table and used both hands to scratch Sergio behind the ears, running her fingers down his neck. The cat closed his eyes in bliss and purred loudly, all the while his sleek body almost floated out to become longer than before.

Eventually, he fell asleep with his chin resting against her cleavage. At that point, Blake was almost asleep too. The weight and warmth of the furry company was more relaxing than any novel - even her guilty pleasure novels.

"I may need to get a cat," she said out loud. Sergio opened his eyes and gave her a look that said _of course you do, everybody does._

"But you're not sleeping in my bed," she continued. "Sorry, but that's where I draw the line when it comes to pets."

Sergio almost seemed to raise an eyebrow at this.

"I'm serious, kitty. You don't get into bed with me. You have your cat bed, you sleep in that one."

Sergio kept staring at her.

"Or you can sleep on the couch," she suggested. "Oh don't look at me like that, just because Garcia probably lets you sleep in bed doesn't mean I will. I don't want your fur on my sheets."

With a huge sigh, he seemed to relent to the facts.

Seemed to.

Then again, he _was_ a cat, and cats rarely play by the rules.


	2. Chapter 2

After getting ready for bed on her first day as a cat sitter, Blake made sure Sergio had everything he needed, even slipping an extra spoonful of wet food into his bowl, and put his cat bed in the living room at the spot he seemed to prefer.

"Okay, I'm going to bed now. See you tomorrow, Sergio."

She turned off the lights and walked towards the stairs, stopping mid-step and turning around again.

"It's nice having you here. You know, I…"

She suddenly realised it was 11 pm, two days before Christmas, and she stood in a dark, empty house talking to a cat that wasn't even hers.

"Oh my God, I'm pathetic," she muttered and shook her head before walking up the stairs to her bedroom. She closed the bedroom door firmly, went to bed, and eventually fell asleep.

With the supernatural ability of cats, Sergio waited until he knew she was so deeply engulfed by sleep she wouldn't wake up easily. Then he padded up the stairs.

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, the door was slightly ajar and she had Sergio draped across her feet like a tiny, vibrating fur blanket. When she moved, he dug his claws into her ankle as if warning her not to upset his comfortable position.

"Ouch! Hey, just what do you think you're doing in my bed? I thought we had a talk about this."

She glanced at the door and found it open. She looked down at the cat.

 _No way. He did_ not _open it by himself._

"But if you did, you've got some nerve, mister," she said, not unkindly. "Lots of brains, too."

Stretching and yawning, Sergio got up and strolled to her face, bumping his forehead against her lips in a gesture that was affectionate and said _shut up, lady_ at the same time. She ran her hand down his silky smooth back a couple of times and said;

"Okay, fine, but tonight you sleep in your own damn bed."

He purred and laid down again, slowly moving his tail back and forth. Regardless of where she turned, he somehow managed to get the tip of his tail into her mouth, brushing it under her nose, or smacking it into her eye. She was pretty sure it was deliberate, and was determined to wait him out, but the third time he smacked her in the eye she had enough, tossed the covers aside and got out of bed. Sergio sighed and began to groom his fur as if she no longer amused him. Blake shrugged and made the bed. Well, tried to. A certain black cat decided it was a perfect time to run under the bedcovers and trying to attack her hands and mess up the result as well as he can. Blake was scolding him but not really feeling annoyed. It was like playing hide and seek.

"Ow!"

Fine, hide and seek and _bite_.

"If you're done messing up my work and trying to kill me, would you like some breakfast?"

Sergio stopped almost as if he understood the words, jumped down from the bed (which actually looked worse than it did before she tried to make it thanks to his "help") and walked out of the room with his tail in the air.

"Well, it's almost like living with a man again," Blake said under her breath and chuckled. "Either annoying me or ignoring me."

There was no response, only the sound of his paws when he hurried downstairs. Cats were supposed to be quiet, and Sergio definitely knew how to be, but right now he sounded like a whole herd of elephants clomping down the stairs. Then there was a brief moment of silence before a very commanding " _Meeooow_!" drifted up, no doubt coming from the kitchen. Blake scoffed and quickly straightened out the bedcovers.

"Coming, Your Majesty!" she called out. For a moment she pondered getting dressed, then decided that having breakfast in her PJs for once wouldn't kill her, and only Sergio was there to judge her.

Then again, he _was_ pretty judgmental.

" _Meeeoooow_!"

She decided if it was _that_ urgent, he probably wouldn't mind if his servant showed up in her sleepwear.

* * *

She had some scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee while she watched the cat eat. He didn't stop for a moment until he was done, but unlike the dogs she had had in her life, he didn't gobble up the food without tasting it. She could have sworn the Golden retriever she had once didn't chew her food, just inhaled it.

As soon as Sergio was finished, he took two steps away from the empty bowl and began to groom his fur. Blake had a brief vision of humans taking a shower after each meal and had to laugh a little. Sergio stopped and glared suspiciously at her, with his tongue still sticking out.

"Never mind, keep going," she said and waved a hand in his general direction. A moment later, he did.

Blake kept looking at him for a couple of seconds, affection very prominent on her usually so stern face, and then she decided to go watch the morning news. She brought a second cup of coffee and made herself comfortable on the couch.

The main topic of today's news was the big snowstorm that was supposed to hit DC sometime in the afternoon today, Christmas Eve. Blake pondered whether or not she really had to go shopping, especially since she wasn't going to celebrate Christmas with anyone. People would probably be hoarding groceries as if the end of days had come, and she didn't feel like getting caught in that kind of craziness. However, she had - true to bad habits - put off shopping as long as she could, and therefore was almost out of a lot of things. She definitely needed to buy more coffee, for example.

"And cat food, so don't worry," she said, and looked down at Sergio. When had he snuck up into her lap? She hadn't even noticed. "You've got to be careful, or I might not let you go back to Garcia," she added and smiled when he rolled over on his back so she could scratch his belly. He looked more than comfortable, and she hated to ruin the moment, but she felt like she should get dressed and get that shopping done as soon as possible, so she moved him from her lap and got up.

Sergio looked at her with pleading eyes, rivalling any puppy's.

"Don't look at me like that. I have to get going."

She shook her head.

"Still talking to you. Now I wonder if I'm pathetic or insane."

Sergio yawned.

* * *

When the human had made the insane decision to go outside in the snow - Sergio had once walked through snow, and it was awful, like walking in solid, cold rain, and he was never going to do that again - he got up from the couch, stretched a couple of times, and then went upstairs, back into the bedroom the human called hers and he called theirs. She should actually be flattered he allowed her to sleep with him, as he didn't always allow his humans to do that. But she had good taste in bedcovers, they were really warm and cosy. Neither his first nor his second human used that thick covers. His snout told him they were filled with downs, which increased his respect for her - she must be a fairly good hunter to catch that many birds.

Curling up underneath said covers, Sergio let out a contented sigh and fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N**

Okay, so here's a little update happening. Mundane as hell, but I felt like it. It does feel kind of weird to write about snow when you're sitting in an apartment this hot, but hey… LOL

For the record, my cat is currently sleeping under the bed pillows. In spite of the heat. The other one is trying to get into the fridge. Interesting how different they can be. :P

Also. Blake needs a cat. I may have said that before. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Blake did by no means suffer from agoraphobia or the likes, but she _did_ prefer to be in quiet environments and her own company, and the crazy, buzzing crowd in the supermarket had drained her of most of her energy. Besides, it got dark so early now, and the gloom did a number on her mood no matter how much she tried to deny it. The traffic through the increasingly bad weather didn't do much to raise her spirits either.

So she was exhausted and not in the best of moods when she got back home and started unloading the groceries.

Then suddenly there was Sergio, sitting on the floor as if he had been waiting for her. He let out a sound that sounded like something in between a purr and a meow, and bumped his head against her legs a couple of times. Blake felt the past hours of irritation and exhaustion almost dripping off of her, along with the melted snow in her hair.

"Hey buddy. Oh you have no idea how glad I am to be home," she said and bent down to caress his fur. Her hands were freezing but he didn't seem to mind. And when he jumped up on the counter, _she_ \- oddly enough - didn't mind. He nuzzled one of the bags with great interest and gave her a hopeful glance.

"Yes, I'm having chicken for dinner. You're having wet food."

Sergio nuzzled the bag again, and then placed both front paws on her chest, looking her in the eye as if saying "Get yourself together, woman, you're not thinking straight!" Blake merely patted his back and tried to go back to the groceries, so Sergio saw no other way than to simply climb up on her shoulder and meowing loudly into her ear. She laughed.

"Honey, you will get a piece. I promise."

She didn't notice the term of endearment slipping out, but she did notice something else - she was _very_ forgiving and relenting when it came to this cat. It probably wasn't a good idea to get too attached when she had to give him up in a couple of days, but…

A wet cat nose pressed against her neck and she shrieked and laughed again as Sergio forced his head in under her chin in a display of mad and maddening affection. She put both arms around his sleek body and stood like that for a long time, lost in the sound of his incessant purring, thinking that this was as close to inner peace as she had been in many years.

Then the emotions boiled over and she burst into tears.

* * *

This human was broken inside, although nothing showed on the outside, but Sergio knew he could fix her if he got some time. He had with his first human. When he first moved in with her she was a mess, but he managed to shape her up fairly well in only a short amount of time. His second human wasn't broken, but that wasn't odd at all. Unlike the other two, she didn't hold her feelings in, but let them come when they did. This one, on the other paw… hooo boy. Lots of emotions bottled up in this one. That's why she needed him. So he purred and graciously allowed her to hug him a bit tighter than he usually liked, while hoping to _Garfield_ she would remember to give him some of that chicken.

She did.

* * *

The forecasted snowstorm hit DC late in the afternoon, while Blake was on the couch reading another guilty pleasure novel and sipping some guilty pleasure Irish coffee. Sergio was sprawled out on the armrest of the couch, glaring suspiciously at the windows when snow hit it. The wind picked up little by little and soon howled around the eaves like something out of a horror story. Blake was never going to admit it to anyone, but she hated that sound. It made her feel unsettled and anxious, and yes, okay, it was too easy to imagine things that weren't there, even for a seasoned FBI agent. But if she lacked imagination she wouldn't be able to enjoy reading fiction either, so that was kind of a double edged sword.

Sergio got up, stretched, climbed onto her lap and shamelessly laid down on top of the book.

"I was reading there," Blake said.

Sergio looked up at her, blinked, and began to purr.

"You're hopeless," she said and ruffled his fur with both hands. "No respect, whatsoever. You're so much of a cat you're almost a caricature of one."

Sergio had no idea what she was talking about, but he liked listening to her voice. It was almost as pleasant as her touch. Now if she would only be so kind as to remove the uncomfortable object that he was lying on…

Blake removed the book from under the cat and put it on the couch next to her.

… aah, purrfect.

* * *

It was the night before Christmas, the snowstorm was at its worst, and Blake was in bed, tossing and turning. She hated the sound of the wind, she felt lonely and restless and unable to sleep, to the point where she considered checking the medicine cabinet to see if she still had some sleeping pills. What held her back was the fact that she had been having not one but two Irish coffees tonight, and she didn't want to mix pills with alcohol.

A particularly strong gust of wind struck the house and the windowpanes made a rattling noise. She sat up in bed, heart pounding, and wondered if the entire building was going to collapse, but of course that wasn't going to happen. But she had had enough. She got out of bed and went looking for the only creature in the house that could keep her company.

* * *

The cat was fast asleep on the couch, looking completely innocent, but Blake saw what he had been up to. A few of the Christmas tree decorations were on the floor - actually, she almost stepped on one of them when she entered the living room - and there was even one on the couch next to the sleeping animal. It looked like he had been clawing and biting on it for quite a while before getting bored, but at least he had been kind enough not to knock the entire tree over.

"Sergio?"

She poked him in the exposed belly until he rolled over and opened his eyes.

" _Mrrow?"_

"There you are, stupid cat. Come here," she said, lifted the sleepy feline up and carried him back to her bedroom, crawled in under the covers and more or less spooned the cat. With her face buried in his thick, soft fur, and the comforting sound of his purring drowning out the howling winds outside, she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Sergio had known it was only a matter of time before she realised on her own accord that she needed him. Sometimes these human creatures needed a nudge to understand what they're missing, though, so playing hard to get could be a very smart move. She was now wrapped around his paw. The only problem was that he had developed something of a soft spot for her in return, but… he didn't spend time worrying about the future. That was human stuff, not something worthy of cats.

* * *

 **A/N**

Oh, why not another cuddle chapter. That is pretty much what this story is all about anyway, there's not a grand master plan for the plot going on. Eeeh, as I'm sure you have figured out by now. XD


	4. Chapter 4

This Christmas thing was something Sergio had found to be worth looking forward to. Trees with dangling toys in - indoors! Wrappings and strings! Food! Food everywhere! It was so much fun, and it seemed he had hit the jackpot with human number three here, because oh could she cook! There were no takeout dinners in plastic containers, like the first human preferred. No strange ingredients where the meat was supposed to be, like the second human liked. This was _awesome_ , and he had to show it by running around like crazy for a while.

* * *

Blake watched as the cat spun around, rushing from room to room in a frenzy, as if he couldn't decide where to be.

"Are you excited, little guy?" she asked, grinning. "I can see that, actually."

His excitement was contagious, and Blake who had initially planned on doing a very washed-down version of Christmas dinner, found herself adding one course after another, adding a few more decorations, decided to wrap the few gifts she had bought, put on some Christmas music…

Sergio got more and more worked up with each thing - the wrapping seemed to be his favourite thing by far, and he ruined about a mile of paper and managed to get his tail stuck in the tape not once but twice - and by the time it was time to eat, he was exhausted and had fallen asleep in a cardboard box with one stolen and well-chewed Christmas tree ornament clutched in one paw. He looked like a little kid who had tried to stay up way past his bedtime, and Blake found it adorable. She discreetly snapped a picture of him, but he didn't notice. World war three could probably go off right next to him and he wouldn't wake up. He was even snoring ever so lightly.

Blake shook her head and collapsed on the couch again. She had stayed mostly true to her word; she hadn't done much else than reading and lazying around on the couch. And eating. Let's not forget eating. Sergio's ear twitched as she groaned and unbuttoned her jeans.

"It's fine to binge eat on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I swear I'll behave the rest of the year," she said out loud to nobody in particular and followed this promise up with a burp before she had a chance to cover her mouth. Sergio's head snapped up and he glared at her. _So much for World War 3_ , she thought as he kept staring at her in disapproval.

"Sorry, it just snuck up on me."

Once she had apologised, he curled back into a ball, sighed, and fell asleep again. She looked tenderly at him for a few seconds before following his example. Nothing wrong with a ten minute nap.

* * *

When she awoke three hours later she had no idea where she was or which year it was, not to mention why there were two huge yellow eyes staring into hers. Then she remembered.

"Ughh, Sergio, get down!" she slurred and tried to turn away from his very eager face and the intense presence of his whiskers. He licked the corner of her mouth a few times before obeying, curling up close next to her instead of on top of her. He yawned.

"You're something of a bastard, and yet you're the cutest thing I've ever seen, kitty. I wish you wouldn't go back home."

Sergio wondered what this _go home_ thing meant. As far as he was concerned, home was where he was. And this place wasn't half bad, actually. She _was_ a bit clingy, this human, but she'd probably get over that in another couple of days. Sure, he missed his other humans vaguely, but he was more interested in what was currently going on. Aw, _really_? Was she crying _again_? Okay, she probably never did that in front of other humans, so it was healthy for her to get it out. But it _was_ mildly annoying, as she got his fur wet.

Her cell phone went off and she struggled to get herself back together and sound normal.

"Blake."

"Hey Catwoman, it's Wondergirl."

Blake rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. Garcia and her nicknames.

"Hi Garcia. Merry Christmas."

"You sound weird."

"I do?"

"Yeah, you do."

"Um, I… actually, I fell asleep, you woke me up, that's why I sound like this." She cleared her throat. Garcia laughed, and Blake suspected that she had been dipping into the eggnog, or whatever alcohol-based Christmas drink they preferred in England.

"Well, sorry. I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, and check up on you. Are you doing alright with Sergio? He can be a bit of an asshole."

"He's alright," she replied, afraid that she'd sound too emotional if she went into the subject of Sergio right now. "How are you guys?"

Garcia lowered her voice.

"There's mistletoe in here and Chocolate Thunder keeps standing under it. I'm not sure if he has his eyes set on Emily or me."

Blake groaned and fell back on the couch.

"I know you're not a profiler, but for how long has this been going on? It's you, Garcia. It's _always_ been you. Get in under that mistletoe."

A low rustle could be heard, followed by a giggle, and then Emily took the phone.

"I hope you're taking good care of my cat."

"Do you think this is this good enough?" Blake asked and put the phone against Sergio so the purring went through the phone lines all the way to London, England. Emily chuckled.

"That'll do fine, Alex. That'll do just fine."

"The mistletoe thing. That was sneaky."

" _Somebody_ had to do _something_ ," Emily said in good humour. "Although I kind of regret it now, because I just became the third wheel."

"Tough," Blake replied and scratched Sergio behind the ears with her free hand.

"And what about you? Are you okay sitting alone on Christmas?"

"Oh God, why does everyone keep asking me that? A regular Christmas, this would be about the time that my mother-in-law stops wrapping her insults in a soft voice and fake concern and just lets them fly, while my father-in-law quietly gets drunk and my husband makes two or three half-hearted attempts to calm his mother down before he joins his father in drink. All the while I try to keep a fake smile and finish the chewy turkey without saying or doing something that might get me arrested. Believe me Emily, I am _beyond_ pleased to spend this Christmas without that kind of drama."

"It was that bad, huh?" Emily said softly.

"Not with James, you know, we just grew apart. But his parents? It's such a cliché to be at war with your mother-in-law, and frankly, I've never heard of it actually happening in real life, but Mary Blake and I could not stand each other. She thought I was a gold-digger and I thought she's a heartless bitch."

She fell silent, processing what she had just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay. It sounds like you've kept that bottled up for a while. Maybe it's better to let it out," Emily replied. Then: "Gold-digger?"

"The Blake family is one of the oldest and richest in Boston," she sighed. "Mary had already decided on a suitable wife for her only son when I came along and ruined her plans. Oh it's ridiculous, it's like we never left the fifties."

"Wow," Emily said, articulating the word very well.

"I'm not whining, I'm really not," Blake hurried to assure her. "I'm just explaining why 'alone on Christmas' doesn't sound so awful to me. Besides, I'm _not_ alone. Sergio is right here, and you couldn't ask for better company."

Emily laughed.

"I know, he's one of a kind. I miss him every day."

"I'm going to miss him too," Blake admitted.

"Oh, looks like my guests have finally unlocked lips," Emily said. "I'd better go back. Merry Christmas, and… take care of Sergio, and he'll take care of you. He does that."

"Yes, he does."

They hung up and Blake felt that rumoured peace come over her. She hadn't felt that way on a Christmas Day since she was a kid. She looked at the time and decided to finish up in the kitchen and then go to bed.

* * *

When she entered the bedroom, Sergio peeked at her from under the bedcovers.

"So you decided to go straight here and warm up the bed for me, did you?" she asked. He gave a sleepy squeak in response. "Good boy. Mmff, okay, no kissing on the mouth," she said and turned away as he bumped his head against her face.

Sergio relented and snaked as close to her as he could get without actually climbing into her pyjama top. Only because she needed his close presence, of course. Not that he actually _wanted_ to, no, he was a cat, a lone ranger, a… _mm, she was cosy._

And Blake, who normally would have thought she'd never be able to sleep too close to anyone, wondered for a moment how she'd ever be able to sleep _without_ him in the bed.

* * *

 **A/N**

Aww, no it's not going to be a sad ending, so don't worry. It's a cuddle fic. Haha, I don't know if that's a term, but it is now. And you can't have sad endings to those. ^^


	5. Chapter 5

Two days later, Blake was trying to have a cup of tea while Sergio decided this was the perfect moment to sit on her shoulder. To avoid getting scratched when he got these ideas, she had switched from the blouses she usually wore, to a soft and very comfy hoodie. And this hoodie, along with a pair of old jeans that could take a scratching without leaving her bleeding afterwards, was what she was wearing when she answered the door.

Garcia and Morgan stared at her as if she was a completely different person. In a way, Blake supposed that she was.

"Uh… hi," Garcia said, her eyes darting from the hoodie, to the sloppy ponytail, to the pawing cat on the brunette's shoulder. She had never seen Blake look more… comfortable. Not unkempt, but comfortable. Relaxed.

"Hey guys, you're early," Blake said and put the tea cup down on a table so she'd get both hands free to untangle Sergio's claws from her hair. "Ow, Serge, we've been over this already. If you're going to sit on my shoulder you have to be still."

"Looks like you two get along nicely," Morgan said, chuckling. "Penelope was worried you'd be at war by now."

"I wasn't worried, I was just… not really expecting _this_ ," Garcia admitted when Sergio slid down Blake's shoulder and came to rest in her arms. The older woman looked at Garcia's hand, the one with the fingers laced together with Morgan's, and nodded.

"And I didn't expect _that_ ," she said pointedly, and smiled as Garcia's cheeks flushed. "After all these years, it only took a mistletoe to set things straight."

Garcia ignored her comment, but her flush deepened, and Morgan chuckled a little, at a loss of what to say. That was probably a first, Blake thought and hugged Sergio a little bit tighter, then sighed.

"I'll go get his stuff."

It was possible that her voice sounded a bit thick, and it was also possible that Garcia heard it, or perhaps she just read Blake's sad body language, because the tech analyst said;

"No, Alex."

Blake turned back, trying to look at Garcia over Sergio, who was nuzzling her with all his might, not to mention his whiskers.

"What?"

"I think we should make an arrangement. He stays with you. And when you go away on cases, I'll take him."

"But… aren't you going to miss him?"

"Of course, my sweet lady, but if you haven't noticed, this 'going away on cases' thing is a pretty frequent part of your job description," Garcia joked, and then grew serious. "You need him, Alex. That was the first thing Emily said after you spoke on the phone the other day. And, well…" she chuckled as Sergio hooked his front claws into Blake's collar. "He's pretty attached to you. Literally."

"I'm very attached to him too," Blake said, and found that it wasn't so hard to admit after all. "Thank you Garcia. It really… it means a lot to me."

"I could tell."

By now Sergio felt that he had gotten his point across and showed everyone where he preferred to stay, so he didn't have to keep rubbing it in. He jumped down from his newest human's arms and strolled up to greet his other human and her mate. He liked them okay too, and it was nice of them to come and visit him. The least he could to was say a proper hello before he went to toast himself by the open fireplace and wait for his new human to sit down so he could grace her with his cuddles. Only because she needed them. He hadn't yet managed to shed enough fur on her pants to shelter her from the chilly weather, in case she was crazy enough to go outside. But it was hard to donate enough fur, because every time he got close, she got up and rolled those sticky things on her clothes to remove it, so he had to start all over again. He wasn't one to give up, however. He didn't want her to freeze, and even more importantly, he didn't want any other cat to believe they could have her.

He allowed the others to pet him for a brief moment and then scurried back inside. There was _snow_ out, still! Why didn't these humans do anything about that abomination?

"Paws getting cold?" Blake asked, amused. He shot her a contemptuous glare and walked away with his tail in the air. All the way out to the kitchen.

 _Meoooow!_

Blake exchanged looks with Garcia and they both burst out laughing.

"Yeah, I know that meow," Garcia said. "You'd better go serve His Royal Highness some food."

"Would you like to come in and have something to eat too? I'm not going to serve you cat food, I promise. I'm not _that_ much of a cat lady," Blake said. "It's just that I made so much food for Christmas, there's no way I'll be able to eat all of it myself. Even if the little guy out there is having his share of the turkey…"

"We'd love to," Morgan said before Garcia had a chance to reply. He gave her an apologetic glance. "You know I love you baby girl, but I'm tired of the vegetarian stuff, and Emily cannot cook if her life depended on it."

"Don't worry, Penelope," Blake assured her, "there is plenty of food sans meat as well, you're not going to leave the table hungry, I promise."

"If it's not too much trouble," Garcia said, sounding uncharacteristically shy.

"No trouble at all. Come on in," Blake said and stepped aside to let them in.

So they went inside, and as they took off their coats Blake realised this was the first time she had ever invited anyone from the team into her home. She had always thought that it would be a line between personal and professional life that she didn't want to cross, but instead she found that having them there made the house seem more like a home. More lively. It was a strange, but satisfying feeling.

As she went into the kitchen to feed Sergio and prepare the promised meal, she made eye contact with the cat.

"Are you my Christmas miracle?" she murmured. She could have sworn he winked at her.

Then he went back to eating.

* * *

 **A/N**

I'm going to slap the "complete" tag on this story now, but I liked the idea of Blake taking over Sergio so I might write more on that premise in the future. Garcia got Morgan and Blake got to keep the cat, without having to worry about where to leave him when she leaves on a case. And Garcia get Sergio to keep her company when Morgan is away on those cases. Win/win. ^^


End file.
